this is "world news." tonight, outbreak. an explosion of new cases of meningitis. tonight the surge in the number of patients who thought they were getting an injection to help their pain, instead infected with deadly meningitis. the big chill. bitter cold and tonight already snow in some places. the system on the move. meteorologist ginger zee is right here with how long the deep freeze lasts. whiplash. tonight, just 30 days to go, the biggest crowd yet for mitt romney but the president fueled too by the lowest unemployment rate since he took office. the new eye-opening polls and of that debate. look who's talking? >> here now to comment, big bird. [ cheers and applause ] >> big bird weighing in. and charged up. the daredevil once frozen in ice then buried alive now shocking

himself letting perfect strangers zap him. good evening on this sunday night. we begin with that deadly outbreak of meningitis. we learned late today it is quickly spreading. all because of those steroid shots to the spine for patients who thought they were getting relief from their pain. just in the last 24 hours at least 27 more people have become sick. that brings the total number of cases to 91 now. at least seven people have now died from this and tonight a troubling new development. the massachusetts company that made that steroid shot is now recalling every single product it makes out of what it calls an abundance of caution. abc's mark greenblatt leads us off. >> reporter: the pharmacy at the center of the meningitis outbreak today announced a voluntary recall of every product it makes saying this action is being taken out of an

abundance of caution due to the potential risk of contamination. >> i'm scared. >> reporter: the number of meningitis patients jumping today from 64 to 91 confirmed cases in 9 states with 7 confirmed deaths. the outbreak began with a contaminated shipment of drugs from the new england compounding center. that drug injected into the spine for back pain was contaminated with a fungus that can go from the spinal fluid up to the brain causing a rare form of meningitis. the company is one of thousands of compound pharmacies that mix their own medicine, but don't have to meet fda safety standards for manufacturing drugs. the idea, to let some tailor make drugs for patients who foot a special blend like those with allergies but it's not the first problem linked to these pharmacies. nine patients died last year in alabama after receiving a feeding solution made by a compound pharmacy contaminated with bacteria. but the former chief counsel of the fda tells abc news, the

industry has been hijacked by those now just making cheap copies of safer drugs. >> these individuals are no different than counter fifthers. instead of manufacturing fake rolexes they're manufacturing fake drugs. >> reporter: as for the latest victims, janet russell's family in nashville is praying she'll pull through. >> i mean everybody is going through the same thing. it's just hard. to see your mother. >> reporter: today's recall affects up to 1,000 products everything ranging from drugs to simple vitamins, the company stressing tonight that it doesn't know right now and has no reason to think that any of those other drugs are contaminated. >> our team of doctors are weighing in on this, as well, dr. besser. how long before we see the true impact. >> it could be as long as a month, david, before we realize the full problem. now to the race for president, "your voice, your vote" and just 30 days now to go until the election and both candidates trying to capitalize on their own momentum.

governor romney fueled by his debate performance in florida drawing his biggest crowds yet and president obama with that new unemployment number back to where it was when he took office teaming up with bill clinton in california and clinton will be on the campaign trail all week and this as a new gallup poll showing the tighter race after the debate. president obama up by 3 points after being up by 6 at his peak. abc's david kerley is on the campaign trail in florida tonight. >> reporter: 9,000 flag-waving romney supporters jammed the town square, 6,000 last night, all ready to turn the president out of office. >> you all have the chance to hear his answers or his not -- nonanswers. now, of course, days later we're hearing his excuses and next january we'll be watching him leave the white house for the last time. >> reporter: team romney is feeling his debate performance. the president obama is realizing he didn't perform at his peak. >> i think you can assume he

reviewed the tape and it will inform -- it will inform how he handles these subsequent debates. >> reporter: it wasn't all bad news, the president was buoyed by the dp in the unemployment rate to below 8% and broke his own record by raising $181 million in just september. putting him on track to hit a billion dollars. and tonight the president is doing even more fund-raising in los angeles. appearing at a small event with bill clinton too. but it's an issue from the debate -- >> governor romney's central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut. >> i don't have a $5 trillion tax cut. >> reporter: that has the campaigns arguing in television and web ads. >> not telling the truth. >> reporter: so what's the truth? romney does want to cut tax rates. that would reduce revenue by nearly $5 trillion over 10 years. he says he would offset that loss by eliminating loopholes and deductions but he has refused to say which ones leaving him open to attack by team obama. >> mitt romney's solution is he just decided there wasn't math

involved in this problem. and that's absolutely crazy. >> reporter: while the president continues that fund-raising swing, mitt romney will deliberate blistering foreign policy speeches attacking the president on middle eastern policy. that is tomorrow. david? >> david kerley traveling with the romney campaign this weekend, david, thank you. i want to bring in our senior washington editor rick klein tonight. let's gallup poll we showed. a tighter race already. a rolling average as we know and still reflects voters asked before the debate and still could be on the move and all eyes on the crucial battleground straights. in colorado where the debate was held, university of denver poll showing the president holding on to his lead in colorado and, rick, why are both campaigns watching these battleground states, the polls there so closely? >> because those are the polls that really matter at this stage. we've seen signs of tightening after the debate. nothing dramatic. looks like romney's strong performance shook the race but didn't up end it still a slight

edge for president obama. >> we know the vice presidential debate this week. there have been memorable moments before. we remember this from four years ago. >> nice to meet you. hey, can i call you joe. >> you can call me joe. >> can i call you joe. that was sarah palin holding her own against joe biden and this memorable moment from the 19 8 debate. vice presidential candidate lloyd bentsen saying this to dan quayle as he said he had as much experience as jfk. >> jack kennedy was a friend of mine, senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> so powerful moments, rick, but did they make a difference? >> two of the most vice presidential debate lines of all time but both were uttered by losing candidates. they know the stakes are huge for the debate. this is brand-new terrain for paul ryan. biden has more pressure on him now than ever because of the man at the top of the ticket's poor performance last week. >> we'll all be watching. rick klein with the bigger picture, thank you. this right here one on one, george and diane at the dafk and

jake tapper and me at the debate hall and martha raddatz moderating the debate beginning at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on abc. we move on tonight to a key issue for many voters in the electric, the soaring price of gas. now at a record for this time of year, averaging $3.81 nationally, that's up 3 cents in the past week and in california, lo look at this, 4.65. we're asking what's going on in california and are we about to see a turning point with those prices. here's abc's brandi hitt with that tonight. >> reporter: california drivers are beyond frustrated -- >> i didn't even get like ten gallons in $43. >> it's ridiculous. my car right here takes almost $100 to fill it up. >> reporter: -- as they face a second straight day of record-breaking gas prices. perhaps prompting thieves who electronically disabled a meter at this shell in roseville, california and stole nearly 1,000 gallons. >> i don't know if we can recover the money or not but at least those people should go to

jail. >> reporter: the spike is thanks to the perfect of problems. while one plant in richmond was shut down because of a fire. another plant closed last week because of power problems. a pipeline also became contaminated, and it all happened as california prepares to switch from now scarce summer-grade to winter-grade fuel. new england is also seeing a price increase. as older refineries shut down. >> it's just here in california and up in the new england states where there is an anomaly going on, and that's why prices are still high. >> reporter: nationally, the areas in red are being hit hardest. gas prices in new york and connecticut are also still well above $4 a gallon, as is the case in the northwest. drivers here in burbank are paying up to $5.89 a gallon and some oil experts believe prices could go up another 20 cents before finally coming down over the next week. david? >> brandi hitt tonight. thank you and welcome to the team. we move on from rising prices of gas to the falling temperatures.

a large part of the country seemed to go straight from summer to winter. temperatures were in the 30s when the minneapolis marathon kicked off today. many of f the runners there hado wear hats and gloves just to stay warm. abc meteorologist ginger zee who foes that part of the country very well, you forecasted there for year. >> right. >> this is even wider than just one part of the country. >> exactly then runners don't like it but the spectators are going, whoa, where did winter come from? that's what i want to start with all those shocking numbers. pierre, 19, a record, amarillo this weekend got down to 4, tulsa at the freezing mark. >> the big question, the monday morning commute for parents and kids off to school. what do they face. >> if they are going back, the holiday is in there too, even if you're going to a parade, perhaps, look at the freeze watches, the frost advisories and warnings from texas to new jersey. it's not over and will be colder for a lot of folks tomorrow. indianapolis at 32. the natural question, how long does it stick around? well, for the mid-atlantic and northeast you can see new york city back into the 60s, almost 70 by wednesday, chicago gets

another shock. it's that time of year, another cold front. >> great to have you on "gma" and "world news now." to the middle east where the israeli military shot drown a drone that flew deep into the country, you see it there, the first time in six years a hostile aircraft flew into israeli airspace. not clear who launched it but hezbollah is based in leb ton and is suspected tonight. a fierce enemy of the united states, hugo chavez faces the toughest election of his life today. vengzens have been lining up all day to vote in the presidential race there. chavez has been denouncing the united states as the biggest menace to our planet. he once called former president george w. bush a donkey, a coward, an immoral person. anchor jorge ramos is in venezuela tonight for the election and i spoke with him just moments ago here. jorge, great to have you with us again tonight and president chavez finding himself in his closest race yet to hold on to power. >> reporter: absolutely. for the first time in 13 years president hugo chavez might lose the presidency. he hasn't been able to control inflation, crime, corruption and

for the first time all the opposition parties got together behind one continent. this 40-year-old, former governor. >> we know that president chavez almost made it political sport to become friends with our own rivals in america but also controls a significant amount of oil that comes to the united states. >> reporter: there is a lot at stake for the united states here in venezuela. we to remember chavez had pressure on barack obama and president bush but going beyond the personal level we have to remember venezuela exports billions of barrels of oil to the united states and hugo chavez can disrupt oil prices just with a phone call and what chavez has done most important alley, iran in the region. and even though president barack obama once told me he does not consider hugo chavez to be a threat to national security, many republicans don't agree on this with pressure on barack obama, david. >> our colleague in venezuela, jorge, thank you. back in this country now and we turn this evening to the unsolved mystery in colorado

tonight. the 10-year-old girl who vanished without a trace while heading to school. there is a massive search under way this evening. abc's clayton sandell is in colorado with the first key clue. >> reporter: three days since 10-year-old jessica ridgeway vanished. today the first real clue. police recovered a backpack and water bottle they believe might be jessica's about six miles from where she vanished. >> we want the community to keep the faith in we're going to find jessica. >> reporter: today new teams of scent dogs combed her westminster, colorado, neighborhood. jessica's mother sarah last saw her daughter friday as she walked to school but she never arrived. the school called home but her mother works overnights and says she was asleep missing the call. by the time she discovered jessica missing, eight crucial hours had passed. to give you an idea of the neighborhood jessica's house is right over there and this is about the point where her mother would have last seen her and as you can see it's only three houses from the park where

jessica was supposed to pete with her friends meaning if she was taken here, it happened in a very short distance and in a very narrow window of time. over the weekend, more than 800 volunteers scoured trails and hillsides, but found no trace. jessica is caught on a custody battle between her mother and father who lives in missouri. while police say they have no suspects they're not ruling anyone out. >> if you look at the number of children that disappear in the united states, they tend to be well over 90% of the time at the hands of a parent or a relative. >> reporter: police say they've gotten hundreds of tips. now they just want to bring jessica home. clayton sandell, abc news, westminster, colorado. >> clayton, our thanks to you tonight. the countdown is under way this evening at cape canaveral, a privately owned unmanned rocket scheduled to blast off for the international space station following a test flight by the spacex company last may. it is the first of 12 supply missions between spacex and, of

course, nasa. still ahead on "world news" this sunday night, it was the unexpected character that emerged in that fierce battle between president obama and mitt romney. tonight what big bird has to say about suddenly becoming the center of a political storm. [old english accent] i doth declare that thou have brought overmany discounts to thine customers! [old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. by the spacex company last may. about suddenly becoming the what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progressive. there's the sign to the bullpen. here he comes. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job, the pitch! whoa! so why are you doing his?

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as you saw there, it's just days till the vice presidential debate. we're hearing for the first time about someone brought up though at the last debate. big bird. speaking out about that unexpected moment. here's abc's reena ninan tonight. >> reporter: "saturday night live" last night. >> no.

hog wild. >> reporter: was it a mistake targeting america's favorite yellow bird. >> it wasn't a targeting it was a just pointing to one example that big bird is a pretty commercially successful entity. >> reporter: the show relies on less than 0.1% of funding from federal dollars. after the debate some 17,000 tweets per minute came in about # be bigbird. welcome to the middle class, big bird. despite or because of it big bird has helped the romney campaign raise $12 million in the 48 hours after the debate. >> how did you find out your name had been mentioned in the debate. >> i got a million tweets. >> okay. so you're on twitter. >> no, i'm a bird. tweeting is how we talk. >> okay. >> reporter: what's also talking

are the sales here at this toy store in washington, d.c. they say they're selling more big bird items than they have in weeks past. proving just how profitable one yellow bird can be. david? >> and we'll put the whole report up online for everyone at home. when we come back on the broadcast one remarkable solution to get one crying baby to eat dinner. what this dad does with this laptop so the little guy can eat lunch. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream...

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discovered a whole new audience for that dance craze sweeping the internet, gangnam style. baby benjamin did a fussy eater and often takes him an hour but when he calls up "gangnam style" on the video on the left, check this out. ♪ ♪ gangnam style >> a mesmerized benjamin nearly goes into a trance and gobbles down all the food. his dad says this is pretty much the only time we let him watch tv. the world's most extreme sky diver is preparing for the jump of his life. felix baumgartner will be skipped with a special spacesuit and parachute expected to reach speeds of 690 miles an hour on the way down to the new mexico desert. it's slated for tuesday. we'll let you foe what happens. when we come back though to another daredevil, the latest death-defying feat from david blaine. just what is he doing and why would he let perfect strangers zap him? copd like me, you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels.

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take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye.

and finally tonight, this is the scene here in new york city this evening. daredevil david blaine at it again wearing a suit of steel right there. that's metal, 27 pounds of it as he gets shocked with a million

volts of electricity and he's letting his fans do the zapping. abc's john schriffen face to face with blaine asking what we are all asking, why? >> it's alive. it's alive. it's alive! >> reporter: it's a modern-day twist on the movie "frankenstein" only this jolt has real-life consequences. in his latest stunt illusionist david blaine is electrified for 72 hours. >> the volts are big. >> reporter: to give you a better idea of what it's like i get closer than anyone else. >> all right. here we go. a chance to talk to david blaine. we head up in the elevator cage protecting us from the volts and just moments later, eye to eye with the stunt man himself. now some people might call you crazy. why are you doing this? blaine says he's always had a fascination with electricity becoming a human plasma ball. this is not the first time with blaine, a glutton for shallment pushed the limit, hung upside

down for more than two days in central park and suspended himself in a box over the thames river for 44 days and submerged himself underwater for a week. but unlike many of his previous stunts, this one was designed to be interactive. the crowds here in new york or pop-up stations around the world is able to control the voltage and zap blaine with a push of a button. can you feel the pain? he tells me sometimes he feels a slight tingle but that protective suit is working. if all goes according to plan, monday night blaine will come down and accomplish another bizarre but amazing feat. david, we wish you the best of luck. >> tha you very much. >> reporter: john schriffen, abc news, new york. >> john right up there with the headphones. "gma" first thing in the morning, diane right back here tomorrow night. good night. [ barack obama ] i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

[ female announcer ] he says... president obama and i both care about poor and middle-class families. [ female announcer ] but this is what the budget plan mitt romney supports actually does. more huge x breaks skewed to the wealthy. while cutting nearly eight hured billion from medicaid... even though middle-class fami rlies rely on medicaid to help loved ones cover nursing-home care. and it helps parents support children with disabilities. if mitt romney really "cares," wouldn't we see it in his priorities? according to an independent, non-partisan study,y, barack obama and the liberals will raise taxes on the middle class by $4,000. the same organization says the plan from mitt romney and common sense conservatives is "not a tax hike on the middle class." want proof? read the non-partisan study for yourself at american.com. obama a his liberal allies?